Rain
by A Whispered Word
Summary: When a rainy night threatens to keep Yang awake, Blake will have to find a way to comfort her. The only way she can.


Rain.

Yang was never much of a fan of it. She recalled how when she was growing up the earliest sign of murky skies, shaking trees and the absence of the warm sun always meant a day locked in the house. So, you can imagine how to an energetic child such as herself that was the equivalent of torture, simply because she could no longer run around outside. But now that she was much older the rain brought upon the young blonde a similar dread, but for much different reasons.

Pain.

It was the pain she felt where her right arm used to be what brought her down on rainy days. The cold weather accompanied by the lack of sunlight meant that when she was wearing her prosthetic, it would act out, and get stiff due to the compressing of the metal, or that the muscle fibers which had been violently torn apart in the process of her amputation would ache. Atlas technology was well on its way to making the lives of those who were handicapped much easier, but even the most refined technology could not compete with the laws of nature.

Yang shut her eyes trying to drown out the pain. She began to count her breaths, a technique she had picked up due to being bedridden after the fall of Beacon. Whenever she found herself frustrated, stressed or in pain, she would count each breath and organize her thoughts.

The room was dark. The only audible sounds were the rain drops which intrusively crashed against the glass of the window, and her teammates muted snores.

"You alright?"

A voice broke the silence and Yang opened her eyes. She could faintly make out a silhouette at the end of her bed.

"Blake?" Yang whispered, afraid to disturb her other team members. She sat up. "What wrong, are you okay?" She couldn't make out the details of her partner, but she could tell it was Blake.

"What's wrong with me?" Blake replied. Yang instinctively pulled her knees into her chest, giving Blake room to climb up from her bottom bunk and adjust herself at the foot Yang's bed. "I'm fine, I'm more worried about you. You were breathing all funny and tossing around a lot."

Yang's eyes widened in embarrassment and she moved her gaze towards the wall. She had not been breathing heavily or making a lot of noise, she didn't want to disrupt anyone's sleep, but she failed to take into account her partners very sharp and developed hearing. Between worrying that she might have unintentionally awoken Blake and feeling embarrassed at the fact that she was caught in a weird moment, Yang wondered how many other nights have passed where Blake has had to stay awake and quietly endure the noises that only a Faunus could hear.

"You know you can talk to me. It's not the first night where you've barely gotten any sleep." Blake quietly accused, easily maneuvering herself in the dark, she reached forward and squeezed Yang's hand. "I'm here, okay? I'll always be here." Yang gritted her teeth and continued to direct her eyes at the wall, but Blake could see something written in the blonde's face. An expression Yang felt confident that the rooms darkness shrouded.

Pain.

Discomfort.

Frustration.

These were the emotions clearly displayed on Yang's countenance. Emotions which Yang tried very hard to keep to herself, and control. Not because she did not wish to burden others, but simply because she was so accustomed to being the strong one. To not showing a moments weakness in the face of adversity. To never letting her guard down. Blake couldn't help but feel her chest tighten at the scene before her. Yang was so big. In both strength and size, yet right now she felt so small, so vulnerable.

"What hurts?" Blake carefully whispered, her eyes now damp with tears which threatened to fall.

Unsure of her words, and afraid of making things worse. She could not stand seeing Yang like this. She had never seen Yang like this. She wanted to hold her, stroke her hair and tell her that everything was going to be alright. That whatever she was going through, whatever she was thinking, they could face it together. The past few days had served as a bridge. Blake and Yang had slowly grown closer and closer. Opting to going on missions together, and just enjoying each other's company whenever they had the chance. Both of them constantly expressing deeper unspoken feelings.

Lightning broke through the darkness, which was soon followed by the full echo of thunder.

An unconscious movement caught Blakes attention. Yang pulled her left hand from Blakes gentle grasp and she cupped the spot in her right arm where injured skin met the metal from her prosthetic.

"I don't like the rain." Yang finally murmured, squinting her eyes as a sharp pain raced through her right arm. It ached. It ached so much she could scream. She tried to soothe the pain away by rubbing the spot in small slow circles.

"Is it your arm?" Blake asked, moving a bit closer. This question finally won Blake Yang's full attention, her violet eyes finally meeting Blake's gentle stare.

"I-" Yang tried.

She could not bring herself to talk about this. Not with anyone and especially not with Blake. Adam had been a sore subject for the both of them for a really long time. It was something they were still working through together. All the pain he had caused them, both physical and emotional. He was gone, but somehow, he was still there. Every time her arm hurt; he was there. Blake had already gone through so much because of him. The last thing Yang wanted was for her partner to feel guilty or responsible for the pain Adam kept causing from across his grave.

Yang drew a breath and closed her eyes.

"I'm really fine, Blake." She said, in a dismissive tone.

"You're not." Blake challenged, standing her ground. Her chest sunk at the idea of Yang lying to her. Why would she at this point? After everything that's happened.

"You worry too much."

"Yang."

"We should go to bed; we have a long day of training tomorrow."

"Don't push me away!" Blake finally snapped, a little too loudly, alarm screaming in every feature of her face.

Thunder made its presence known and it began to rain harder. The sound so strong it resembled an airship taking off. They both sat there, quietly, and listened, never taking their eyes off each other. They worried that their conversation might have disturbed their teammates but the sound of both Ruby and Weiss's light snores confirmed that they were still sound asleep.

"Blake I-"

"You can't keep protecting me. I'm not weak, I'm not fragile. Whatever it is you want to tell me, but you feel like you can't, I can take it."

Yang's eyes began to finally adjust to the darkness of the room and with this she noticed Blakes eyes, watery and pleading, and with this discovery Yang felt a sense of guilt begin to overwhelm her. She never wanted to hurt Blake. The reason she kept things to herself was for that very reason. She never would have thought that in keeping something to herself, in order to shield Blake away from sadness, she would be causing her sorrow.

Yang closed her eyes and leaned in, touching her head to Blakes shoulder. The unexpected movement caused Blake to stiffen, and without missing a beat Yang put a solid arm around her partner and held on.

"…It hurts." Yang finally breathed out. Her breath caressing Blake's neck, sending shivers down her spine. "It really hurts." She continued to explain. "Not all the time. Just when it rains." And at this explanation Blake recalled the way Yang had stroked her own right arm earlier, as if she were trying to soothe a distressed child. "And I can't help but feel…"

"Like he's still here." Blake supplied.

"Yeah." Yang chuckled. "Not always though. Just…sometimes."

Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, and closed her eyes, finally the tears which had threatened to fall earlier made their way down her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

Yang further nuzzled herself in the crook of Blake's neck. Never had they physically invaded each other's personal space before. Not like this. They had hugged before, and Blake had even fallen asleep on her partners lap during a mission briefing once. But never had they been so intimate.

"Don't be!" Yang almost shouted, breaking away from Blake's hold. "Blake it's not your fault. It never was and it never will be. I've made my peace with everything that's happened. I've moved passed it; I promise. It's just that there's a physical pain sometimes." At the mention Yang once again rubbed her right arm. She dropped her gaze and lowered her voice. "That's it, that's all it is."

"I wish I could make it all go away." Blake replied, cradling herself, aware of how much she missed the warmth of Yang's closeness which had been present a few seconds ago.

She knew Yang was being honest with her. She had been aware of the degree of the physical trauma Adam's actions had left. Even though the cut was quick and clean, Yang's body would never be the same.

Two sure hands gripped Blake's shoulders, causing her to snap out of her quick daze, and look up. Once again, she found herself staring deeply into Yang's eyes. Yang looked at Blake and regarded her with warmth and affection.

"You being here is enough, I promise."

They let a comfortable silence fall between them. What had been a deafening rain had calmed into a light drizzle. The sound of Ruby stirring in her sleep made Blake aware of the time.

"Stay." Yang pleaded, as if she were reading Blake's thoughts. She began to lean back and gently tugged on Blake's hand. "Please?"

Blake smiled and without further invitation or convincing she maneuvered herself between Yang and the wall and got under the covers. They faced each other, and Blake could make out the very faint sound of Yang's quickening heartbeat. A shy hand made its way to Blake's waist and nudged her closer. Blake complied and fully gave into Yang's embrace. It was warm, it was comfortable, it was home.

Yang cleared her throat.

"Is… Is this okay?" She asked, fully welcoming Blake into her embrace.

Blake closed her eyes and hummed in response, now wrapping her arms around Yang, returning the hug, and removing any seed of doubt her partner might have had. They had a lot of things they had to work out regarding the past and what has happened. But they would work on it together. They would also have to eventually talk about their growing feelings for one another. But that was a conversation for another time.

Not tonight.

"Goodnight, Blake."

"Goodnight, Yang."


End file.
